Fitchburg State surges to Senior Day win

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg State goalie Randy Wolcott saves a shot by Westfield State's Tyler Prendergast during Saturday's game at the Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg.

FITCHBURG -- Don't tick off the Fitchburg State University ice hockey team.

Visiting Westfield State University found out the hard way.

The Owls struck for the go-ahead goal early in the third period, but the Falcons immediately elevated their game and potted four unanswered -- two by freshman sensation Ryan Connolly -- en route to a thrilling 7-4 MASCAC victory on Senior Day Saturday at Fitchburg State University's Wallace Civic Center.

"This is a good hockey team," Fitchburg State coach Dean Fuller said. "That's what we're capable of doing. We just had to hang in there. We were down but they kept working.

"It's been roller coaster for us this season. These kids really wanted this game. I think that kind of got them more refocused.

The four unanswered third-period goals should also send a message to the rest of the MASCAC, according to Connolly.

"It sends a statement to the rest of the league that we're here to stay," the 6-foot-3, 215-pound forward said. "We might not have the best record right now and we definitely should have won a lot of games that we ended up losing, but we can beat anybody in this league. They're the No. 2 team. The only two teams we haven't beaten yet are Plymouth and UMass Dartmouth."

Westfield's (13-8-3, 9-6-3) P.J. McCadden slipped a shot through FSU goalie Randy Wolcott's (25 saves) five-hole for a power-play tally at 5:48 of the third period, giving the Owls a 4-3 advantage.

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But instead of hanging their heads, the Falcons (10-12-2, 9-7-1) dug down and played with an edge that couldn't be matched.

"We definitely came out with fire after that," Connolly said. "We knew we weren't out of it. We've been in that situation before. We know how to battle; we're a hard-working team. We've been down before and we've come back before."

First, the local connection of Leominster's John Celli and Fitchburg's Joseph Caveney hooked up to tie the game at 4-4.

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/ JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg State's Joseph Caveney skates with the puck during Saturday's win over Westfield State at the Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg.

Caveney's initial shot was stopped, but Celli was set up on the near post for the rebound tally at 8:17.

Fitchburg caught a nice break three minutes later when Connolly's centering pass was blocked by a diving Westfield State defenseman. The puck came back to Connolly and he netted his first goal of the evening.

"Bounces have been going my way as of late," Connolly said.

Caveney and Celli had helpers, and then assisted on Connolly's second goal.

Caveney dished to Celli, who flicked a perfect pass to Connolly on the far post for the one-timer goal, giving the Falcons a 6-4 edge.

"Playing with Celli and Caveney, we're clicking right now," Connolly said. "I thought he was going to shoot it coming out of the corner, and I guess Caveney was yelling at him to pass it to me. He threw it right on my stick, perfect spot."

Connolly had two goals, while Celli had a goal and an assist. Caveney -- a talented goal-scorer as well -- played the role of playmaker by chipping in with three assists.

Fitchburg, which snapped a two-game losing streak, travels to Plymouth State on Tuesday for the regular-season finale before the tournament.

"It's all about getting hot at the right time," Connolly said. "We've got to start getting it going again."

The Falcons tightened up defensively in the final 20 minutes, while Wolcott came up with a few clutch saves to preserve the victory.

"We played pretty well defensively in the third," Fuller said. "Overall, it was our best period."

Senior defenseman John Soroka added an empty-net tally, flipping the puck high into the air from center ice, to finish off the third-period fireworks for the Falcons.

Fitchburg State, down 2-1, came out in the second period on a mission, scoring twice in the first eight minutes.

First, Max Lorenzen battled two defenders before charging into the Westfield zone a firing a wrist shot to beat the Westfield netiminder at 3:27.

The Falcons took the lead 3-2 four minutes later, as Sean Loebs led a breakout and hammered a slap shot from the right circle that beat Westfield goalie Ian Perrier stick-side. Lorenzen and Brett Provost assisted on the go-ahead goal.

Caveney and Trevor Lawler -- both Fitchburg products -- had high-percentage scoring chances on the power play to extend the lead, but couldn't sneak a shot past Perrier.

Westfield stole momentum late in the period to deadlock the game at 3-3. Lucas Romero slipped by the Falcon defense and delivered a pinpoint wrister top shelf at 18:40.

Westfield State led 2-1 after the first period -- a period in which both teams brought hard hitting to the ice and tried to establish a dominating physical presence.

The Falcons struck for the game's first goal at 8:25 on freshman forward Timmy Genova's marker after a mad scramble in front of the Westfield net. Shawn Bradley assisted on the goal. The play, however, was kickstarted by Nat Rojas' all-out hustle, blocking an attempted clear by goalie Ian Perrier from the side of the net. The puck eventually worked its way out front, where Genova found the back of the net.

The Owls tied the game on a costly miscue by the Falcons.

During a Fitchburg State power play, Dalton Jay knocked the puck away at the blue line and skated in on a 2-on-1 break with teammate Vince Perreault. Jay, from the left wing, took a shot that was turned away by Wolcott, but the juicy rebound came right out to Perreault, who put the puck into the wide-open net for a shorthanded tally at 12:08.

The Owls went ahead late in the period, as Steve Evans uncorked a laser of a wrist shot that zipped over Wolcott's glove and into the top corner of the net at 13:32.

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